December Happenings

Since, I really don't remember the month of November, I'm going to write about this crazy December. Mark finished his 5th round of chemo a week ago and is tired, but generally feeling pretty good.

During December, we have been busy with all the wonderful activities that go along with Christmas. We have put up our tree, caroled and played piano (Meah and Acel) at the nursing home, had a family Christmas, and attended two other Christmas parties. The kids have had a great time.

This past weekend, we celebrated Christmas with Mark's family. A motorcycle club affiliated with Mark's work gave us a free night at Great Wolf Lodge, so we went on Saturday and also celebrated Christmas with the Copelands. The kids had a blast and all of them will now ride each and every waterslide they can find. I told Mark I can't wait until their old enough to run around themselves and we can set at a table having a drink and reading! It was great fun and we're thankful for the free night!

Before I forget, Meah is scheduled for surgery January 19, so keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Wishing everyone a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Kid Update

People keep asking how the kids are doing, so because I'm so far behind, I thought I would put a little update up here.

Meah turned 9 in October and we took her and Acel to Chicago for a weekend trip. It was wonderful. She and I had lunch at American Girl, which was so much fun. In October, her BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aide) was put on for the first time and all ready we've noticed improvement in her speech. She also grew 4 1/4 inches and gained 8 lbs this year. She is taking ballet and piano lessons. She will have to have two surgeries in the first half of next year, one being a major reconstructive surgery and then hopefully she will not have any surgeries until she is 16.


Acel turned 8 in October and also enjoyed a trip to Chicago. He and Mark went to the Natural History Museum. On our second day in Chicago, the four of us went to the Children's Museum, which is incredible. I think he really enjoyed his one on one time with dad. He is doing excellent in school and taking piano lessons for the first time this year. He has grown 2 1/4 inches and gained 8 lbs.

Isabel turned 6 in June and started Kindergarten in the fall. She is doing well academically, but is having a little harder time not talking when she feels like it! I wonder where she would get this from. She spends a little extra time in the "safeseat" at school! She is so sweet and loving, but it really is hard not to talk at school. As usual, she grew about 3 inches this year and gained a few lbs. She is taking tap/ballet class and loves it.

Jules turned 5, yes it is hard to believe that our littlest munchkin is 5! He goes to preschool everyday and learns "nothing" so he says. He definitely keeps us on our toes. He grew 2 3/4 inches this year and gained 6 lbs.

We are enjoying a snow day today and yesterday. Last night, I took them outside and played in the snow. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, them or me. The snow was great for snowball making!

We had a great Thanksgiving with family and then that weekend, the kids and I went to Monticello, IL to ride the Polar Express. Let me tell you, the kids loved this, we went with some friends and Aunt Marsha came along. It was so much fun! The pictures are from Polar Express!

Thankful

Well, this blog was supposed to be about our fun times as a family, but sometimes life throws you curves.

October started out a wonderful month, celebrating Meah's 9th birthday and Acel's 8th birthday with a trip to Chicago for just them and Mark and I. Then, mid-October my Grandpa had an accident and passed away two days later. The next day, we found out that Mark possibly had esophogeal cancer. We buried my Grandpa and waited to find out the confirmed diagnosis for Mark. On Tues. October 27, we were told that Mark had esophogeal cancer that had spread to his liver and possibly his left hip. We were completely in shock to say the least. Since this diagnosis, we have consulted two oncologists and Mark has started his third week of chemotherapy. He has also had two weeks of radiation. The oncologist told us that there is no cure, but I believe everything can be beaten. This is going to be a long, hard road, but we are going to have faith and believe that he can conquer this, so we can move on to the next stage of our life.

So, I titled this post thankful, because as hard as it is right now I have many things to be thankful for and these are the ones that I currently have to remind myself of everyday:

*our four beautiful children
*that Isabel and Meah are no longer orphans
*and for my husband's positive spirit

People continue to ask what they can do for us and right now the one thing that would mean the most to us is to pray for Mark and pray for our children!

Blessings, Melinda

Joint Heirs Adoption Ministry

October has been a tough month and I don't really have the time or energy to post at this time how devastated I'am about events that have happened to us this month, but during this time, I have had the opportunity to join with two friends in my community to form Joint Heirs Adoption Ministry. Our goal is to bring adoption awareness to our community. We are having an open house on Orphan Sunday, which is November 8. The open house will host speakers and show all different options for adoption. I'm so proud of my friends and hope that my community will be more willing to open their hearts to children who need homes. If you have a chance check out our website below. By the way, the beautiful girls at the top are my personal inspiration for this ministry.

www.jointheirsadoptionministry.org

Happy 40th Birthday, Baby...yes I know this is late!

Mark celebrated (I use that term loosely, since he was home with bronchitis) his 40th birthday on Wednesday, September 16th! We are taking a weekend trip to Chicago with Acel and Meah in October for their birthdays...so we decided not to exchange gifts. Anyway, I received an e-mail from my loving husband and for his birthday he made me a slideshow listing 40 reasons why he loves ME! Yes, too sweet! So even though it is a little late, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday publicly to MY INCREDIBLE HUSBAND! Yes, I know the picture is a little ornery...but he will love me anyway!

Just Pictures

Does Somebody Here Need a Hug?

Well, it has been very busy here and it is only going to get worse. All four kids started school August 18th. Meah started 3rd grade, Acel started 2nd grade, Isabel started Kindergarten, and Julien started preschool! It has been very quiet here in the morning, but the quiet mornings are soon going to be replaced with CRAZY evenings! Acel is going to play flag football on Tuesday nights, still not sure when practice is going to be scheduled. Meah is going to start beginning ballet on Tuesday nights. Isabel is going to do a Tap/Ballet class on Wednesdays. Meah and Isabel refused to be in a class together. I think there will be piano lessons scheduled on Mondays for Meah and Acel.

On a medical update, Meah is having phase 2 of the BAHA (bone anchored hearing aide) surgery on October 12th, so keep her in your prayers. In January, she will have her first jaw surgery to move her left side forward slowly and then approximately 6 to 8 weeks later, the major reconstruction surgery.

I will leave this post with a little Julien story. Julien has became quite sassy lately. He's always been a little ornery, but he's became very quick witted, to say the least. On Friday night, I was giving him a breathing treatment and he was not listening very well to directions, so I changed my tone to let him know that he was about to get into trouble and he looked up at me and said, "Does somebody here need a hug?" and that my friends is why my hair is turning gray!

"Meahs Sbig Day!!"

Yes, I know you all think I typed the title wrong, but today is Meah's 1st Gotcha Day and we pulled out the DVD that Childrens Hope had made for us the day we received Meah and that was the title! Isn't that hilarious? Mark said, "I think from now on we should call this Meahs Sbig Day!" I concur.

Well, today is Meah's 1st Gotcha Day! It is hard to believe that a year ago we were in China meeting her for the first time. She is an amazing child and has been a blessing to our entire family. I'am so proud of her. She has worked so hard this year and learned so much. There are no limits to what she will do!!

This is a picture of Meah her first day with us...


and one year later.

Crazy Summer!

Well this has definately been a crazy busy summer! Isabel celebrated her 6th birthday. Everyone has lost teeth, except for Julien! We've been to a ton of ball games. We had a Great 4th of July Party at our house. Acel and Isabel are now playing tennis at tennis camp. Meah just had phase 1 of a BAHA surgery done on Monday and is doing great! It has been a busy, but great summer. I'm thankful for all the time we've had together!

Zoo Fun

A couple of weeks ago, Mark had a week of vacation after being gone two weeks for annual training with the National Guard. We had a pretty relaxing week and were able to go to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. It is an incredible zoo and we had a great time!

A Little Girl Prays...

Meah is praying for Urumqi, China. It is the city where she is from and there was tremendous violence there on Sunday. She was very saddened by the news and everyone said a prayer tonight for Urumqi and all the people. If you get a chance pray for them, too.

The Batting Glove

My all time favorite sport is softball. I've always dreamed of my girls playing softball and loving it the way I did. Well, when you take an 8 year old, whose never played any organized sport and try to teach her how to play sports it becomes rather...um...difficult. Well, we have been practicing and practicing. She has practiced with her team and to say the least at her first game, she was a little lost. She hit a couple of foul balls, but no solid hit.

Well, on Friday, my cousin came over and practiced batting with her and she hit about four balls. Meah told me that she wanted a batting glove, so I told her if she hit the ball tonight, I would buy her a batting glove. As soon as we got to the game, Meah walked up to the coach and said, "I'm going to hit the ball and run home." The coach, of course thought this as a great idea. The first time she got up to bat, she struck out. She is just a little behind the ball, but so close. The second time she gets up to bat, she has either one or two strikes and then somehow she makes contact with the ball and the ball rolls about five feet from home base. It's a hit! At this point, she and everyone else are in shock and everyone is just looking at the ball. Everyone begins cheering and yelling, "RUN!!" She finally drops the bat and runs all the way to first base safely! A base hit for Meah and apparently now a new batting glove.

HOOAH MATTHEW!!!

On Thursday, Mark and I left for Ft. Knox, KY to see his brother Matthew graduate from Basic Training. Matthew went to tanker school and Acel has been so excited. He tells everyone, "My uncle is a tank driver...yeah...a tank driver!"

On Thursday night, we got to see him for the first time in 4 months. He looked great, but skinny! On Friday, he graduated and they had a very nice ceremony. Way to Go Matthew-We're so Proud of You!!

We then took Matthew to Louisville to spend the day. We went to Churchill Downs and saw a few horse races, went out to eat and then just hung out. We had a great time. Mark was stationed at Ft. Knox about 15 years ago, so he had a good time seeing how much the base had changed.

This morning, we left to return home. It was a long drive, but I'm so glad we were able to attend the graduation. I think Matthew enjoyed the nice relaxing rest on the way home. When we got home, the kids had made him a big Welcome Back poster.

Soccer and End of Year Awards

We just finished school last Wednesday and had several award ceremonies to go to. Acel and Meah both received several awards in their classes. Acel received the Math Whiz, Reading Circle, Book It, Citizenship Award, and another Reading Award. Meah received the Reading Circle, Soil/Conservation Award, and a Courage Award. We also attended two of my nieces award ceremonies. They also received many awards and I need to make note that my niece Magie was awarded Top Dawg (our mascot is Bulldogs) in her 8th grade class. The award is based on academics and citizenship. Way to Go Magie!!



This spring, Meah and Isabel played soccer. Meah wanted to play ever since she saw Isabel play last fall. There wasn't an opening for Isabel on a U6 team, so she played on a U8 team with Meah. It was quite entertaining, to say the least! At least they looked cute in their little uniforms.

Spring Flowers!

I love spring flowers! I'm not actually a gardener, however we bought a house where a gardener lived and she did a marvelous job. Everytime I go outside, I see something new. It has been so much fun and the kids love it! Here are a few pictures to enjoy.

Isa's 5th Gotcha Day!

Well, this post is long overdue, as per usual, but I wanted to mention that on April 17, 2009 Isabel celebrated her 5th Gotcha Day! She is so special and I really treasure her. She is a momma's girl, very strong-willed (that's obviously genetic), and full of life. I can't imagine her not being a part of my life or a very special part of our family.

Happy 5th Gotcha Day, Isa! Love, Mom

Beautiful Easter Pictures

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

Well, it has been a very busy couple of weeks. We have had Easter, Isa's Gotcha Day, and we also went away last weekend to Springfield, IL. Last weekend, we were able to meet three families with children from Xinjiang province, just like Meah. There were also several other families there from some of their travel groups. We had a great time with a great group of people!! I can't seem to find the Easter pics right now, so I will have to post those pics later. Since, I have company coming for the weekend, I'd better get busy cleaning.

Acel's First Turkey!!

Acel went hunting for the first time yesterday with his cousin, Trent. It was youth turkey weekend. He was so excited, especially when he brought this turkey home.

Snowy Spring!!